Mike Pence Comes Out Against Trump’s Plan to Pardon January 6 Rioters: ‘Literally Praying’ Trump and Vance Uphold Their Oaths

AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, File

Former Vice President Mike Pence spoke at the Dispatch’s Summit 2024 and made clear he opposes President-elect Donald Trump’s plan to pardon January 6 rioters – especially those who attacked police.

“At the end of the day, I’ll always believe that, by God’s grace, we did our duty [on January 6] to support and defend the Constitution of the United States of America,” Pence said according to Dispatch on social media.

“I don’t think the president should pardon anyone who assaulted a police officer at the United States Capitol on January 6,” added the former vice president, who was forced to seek refuge that day with his family as pro-Trump rioters — some of whom were chanting “Hang Mike Pence” — breached the building.

“Karen and I are literally praying that President-elect Trump and Vice President-elect Vance will stand on the commitments that they will make when they raise their right hands on that day. And with God’s grace and the support of the American people, I believe they will,” Pence added, expressing hope for the incoming administration.

Pence also lauded the GOP’s victory in last Tuesday’s election. “How about that new majority in the Senate and a renewed majority in the House?” asked Pence, according to Semafor’s David Weigel. Weigel noted that as “One guy” clapped, Pence told the crowd, “You can clap if you want.”

Pence also told the crowd, “I am very encouraged by the early appointments by the president-elect.”
“The nature of leadership that he practices is one of getting inputs from all sorts of different sources,” Pence added of Trump, “I think they’re off to a good start.”

When pressed on the dangers of a second Trump term and whether or not the incoming president will demolish the guardrails around the presidency, Pence replied, “The American people are just not gonna have it.”

Trump ran on promising to pardon the January 6th defendants who he has called “hostages” and “political prisoners.”

“Free the January 6 Hostages being wrongfully imprisoned!” Trump wrote in March on his Truth Social platform. The new president-elect was asked over the summer at the National Association of Black Journalists forum in Chicago if he would pardon the rioters.

“Oh, absolutely, I would. If they’re innocent, I would pardon them,” Trump said during the contentious interview. Trump has, however, qualified the pardons, saying that they would be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. He told a CNN town hall, “I am inclined to pardon many of them. I can’t say for every single one, because a couple of them probably got out of control.”